Quack!Media President Al McWilliams will stay on the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority's governing board after the City Council voted 6-5 Monday night to uphold his appointment.

The vote was unchanged from the initial Sept. 16 vote confirming his appointment, with the same five council members still in opposition: Mike Anglin, Sumi Kailasapathy, Stephen Kunselman, Jane Lumm and Sally Hart Petersen.

Council members continued to critique the contents of McWilliams' personal blog and tweets Monday night, calling him immature, sexist and foul-mouthed. Kailasapathy said McWilliams has posted things that are "very clearly misogynist."

"We all make mistakes in life and we all pay for them," Anglin said. "I believe he erred in his judgment to post some pictures and some statements that I think were not up to the standards of our community."

Lumm said she believed the city could find someone more mature. Petersen agreed and said McWilliams has "a long way to go."

McWilliams said everyone is welcome to judge his blog and tweets for themselves and make up their own minds.

"I'm sure the folks calling me a misogynist are fine folks, and I'm sure they have their reasons," he said.

Al McWilliamsCourtesy photo

McWilliams said he has made only one change to his blog since the controversy started, and that was at the request of Petersen. He said he agreed to take down a "selfie" of actress Amanda Bynes in his critique encouraging people not to read BuzzFeed, and he replaced it with a picture of actor Abe Vigoda.

He said he had linked the photo of Bynes from Huffington Post, and that it also appeared on CNN and "every other news outlet."

Several council members, including Mayor John Hieftje, came to McWilliams' defense, as did a representative of the Michigan Theater.

They suggested those who actually know McWilliams know him to be an upstanding professional who is thoughtful and cares about Ann Arbor.

Council Member Chuck Warpehoski, D-5th Ward, said it seems clear some of McWilliams' actions have been misrepresented and distorted.

Council Member Margie Teall, D-4th Ward, called it "disturbing" that council members had spent so much time debating McWilliams' appointment.

The council also debated Wayne Appleyard's reappointment to the city's Energy Commission Monday night. The council ultimately voted 8-3 to reappoint him.

Kailasapathy, Lumm and Anglin took issue with the fact that Appleyard lives in Grass Lake, not Ann Arbor.

Hieftje said Appleyard brings a lot of valuable expertise as chairman of the commission and was a city taxpayer for many years up until recently, owning a business in Ann Arbor called Sunstructures Architects.